girl next door
by tiltingaxis
Summary: Finn and Rachel, in various AU settings. Drabble(s)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For Dee**

* * *

His mom told him that Teddy was home with the babysitter, that he should head straight back to the house from campus because she and Burt are going to be late and the sitter's on duty until six. He's totally fine with that, because being in college is fun and all, but he misses the little monster, and he knows Teddy misses him too, because "Kurt don't play soldiers the same as you"; so he's ditching a trip to Atlantic City this long weekend to spend time with his little brother. He thought the babysitter was going to be a shy little thirteen year old with braces.

He _didn_'t think that it was going to be Kurt's bestfriend, Rachel Berry, with her pretty smile and the most perfect ass he has ever seen in her teeny tiny skirt.

He's still standing just under the kitchen doorway, appreciating the view presented to him when Teddy looks up from whatever it is that Rachel is showing him and spots Finn. The little monster's face lights up like it's Christmas or something, and seriously, Finn's pretty sure that his brother is the most adorable kid on planet earth, possibly the universe.

"Finny!" Teddy exclaims, as the kid jumps off the kitchen stool and barrels towards him. Finn grins, kneeling down and opening his arms when Teddy jumps him.

"Hey buddy," he says, hugging Teddy tight. "I missed you."

"I missed you too! I didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah man," Finn says as he pulls back, grinning. "It's a surprise. I'm going to be here until Monday. Awesome, right?" Teddy's eyes widen and he turns around to look at Rachel, which is about the time Finn realizes that she's been staring at them this whole time. He stands, shooting her a smile while Teddy tells her that his brother is staying for a _whole_ weekend. She looks slightly surprised to see him, but a smile slides into place as she sends him a small wave.

"Hi, Finn," she says, almost shyly while she stands behind the kitchen island. "Welcome home."

"Hey," he answers. They stand, almost awkwardly while Teddy keeps talking, and he wonders when it was that Rachel Berry stopped wearing her animal sweaters. He looks back down, averting his gaze from her short skirt and tight blouse, opting to look at Teddy instead. He catches the tail end of what his brother is saying, Teddy's face red with excitement.

"- And his name is Oz."

"Whose?"

"Our class goldfish, Finn," Teddy answers impatiently. "Duh."

"Oh. Right. Sorry dude, I didn't hear you."

"We get to take turns to bring him home, and I brought him home last week and I gave him goldfish crackers, and he really liked it, and if you came home last week you coulda seen him, right Rachel?" His brother says this all in one breath, turning around again to look at Rachel, who is smiling in amusement.

"That's right," she says. She turns to look at Finn. "Well, I guess I should leave now," she says.

"I mean, you don't have to," he answers, shrugging. "You can stay until six if you want."

"It's already half past six," she answers, a small smile gracing her face.

"Aww man, really? Sorry for being late, I got caught in traffic."

"It's fine," she says quickly, finally moving as she walks towards them, shrugging on her cardigan. "We were having a ton of fun anyway, right Teddy?"

"Yep. Rachel was going to make me a veggie burger."

"Really?" Finn asks, making a face. "Do you like veggie burgers?" Teddy doesn't answer for a few seconds, but his nose is scrunched when he starts to nod.

"Rachel likes it," his brother answers, and he laughs when she glares mockingly at the both of them.

"Clearly, my veggie burgers doesn't come close to your presence," she quips, her hands on her hips. "So I guess I'll just leave."

She strides over to give the kid a hug, and turns towards him, straightening up like she's not sure what to do, before he leans forward and gives her a quick hug.

"It's good to see you, Finn," she says softly when he pulls back.

"Yeah, you too."

They watch her leave through the kitchen door and make her way through the backyard back to her own house, and once she's safely inside, he turns back to his brother.

"Does Rachel babysit you a lot?" he asks. Teddy nods, taking his hand to pull him out into the living room.

"Yeah. 'Specially when Kurt goes out with Blaine," Teddy tells him. "She's awesome."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. I mean, she's no good at playing soldiers and stuff, but she's really good at telling stories, and she knows how to make funny voices. And her veggie burgers are okay, I guess," Teddy finishes, making a face. He laughs as he ruffles his brother's hair. Teddy fishes his phone out of his jeans and turns on Angry Birds, and proceeds to completely ignore him, until he says that they're going out for pizza. That kid loves his pizza like Kurt loves his Broadway posters.

Xxx

He doesn't see Rachel again until Saturday evening, at the weekly Berry-Hummel dinner out in their backyard. He'd spent the whole day with Teddy, as promised, and honestly, he'd forgotten how tiring little kids can be, especially six year olds with bundles of stored energy. It's like he's trying to do all that they can do together in one day. He had to remind the kid, time and again, that there was still tomorrow, and that he won't leave until Monday morning so they'll have a whole day together, and it's not until they're tossing frisbees out in the yard that he finally starts to tire out. By the time dinner rolls around, the poor boy is sitting on the living room couch, nodding off.

"Well, it's never been this easy to get him to sleep before," his mom says, amused. "I just wish we could have waited until _after_ dinner."

"Sorry mom," he answers sheepishly. "We had a pretty eventful day."

He chuckles when Teddy finally dozes off, his head lolling to the side. They're waiting for the Berrys. Burt is in the basement, and Kurt's putting the finishing touches to his dessert. He'd been helping to set the table, trying to evade a quiet moment with his mother, but from the determined look on Carole's face as she turns to him, he knows he's caught.

"It's fine, Finn. I know how much he misses you. You don't come home enough, that's the problem."

"Mom-"

"I know, I know. You're very busy being a college student, you don't have the time. But a year is ridiculously long, Finn."

"You know I was working last summer," he argues. "And you came to visit for Christmas, so it's not like we haven't been seeing each other."

"Yes, but this is the first time since you've been _home_, Finn. Is it that hard to just take the time and come home once in a while?"

"Mom I-," he starts, but she has this look on her face. This stubborn, hopeful look on her face, that he never says no to. And this is exactly why he was trying to avoid this conversation with her. He sighs. "Fine mom. I'll try to come home more, okay?"

She sends him this huge smile that looks just like Teddy's as she steps closer to pull him into a hug. His mom is tiny, but she's really strong. She's a total hugger, and when he was younger he used to get really embarrassed about it. But he's in college now, and he rarely gets to see his mom, so whatever.

"I'm not asking you to come home every week, Finn," she says when she pulls away. "But once every few months would be nice."

"_Okay_, mom," he promises, rolling his eyes in good nature. He picks Teddy up to carry him to his room in his haste to avoid a deeper conversation, one that would most definitely involve his dating life. Teddy talks in his sleep, mumbles something about frisbees and soldiers as he snuggles closer to his big brother, and it pulls a smile out of Finn when he sets his brother down. He knows that there's some truth to his mom's words. He calls home and talks to his family every weekend, but he could have sworn that the last time he saw Teddy, the kid was definitely an inch shorter. It's not that he doesn't _want_ to go home. It's just that it's easy to get carried away with college life, you know?

He's walking back down the stairs when he hears her voice. He doesn't really know why it makes him slow his steps, but he tries to be quiet when he hears them arguing.

"_No_, Kurt."

"Rachel, just call him. Take charge, there's nothing wrong with the girl making the first move."

"Well maybe I just don't _want_ to make a move on him."

"Why not? He likes you. Did you see the way he was looking at you in that skirt last week? I mean, it made _me_ blush."

"Kurt."

"I'm serious. It's senior year, Rachel. Prom is coming up in a few months. Lighten up, would you? It's okay to have fun once in a while you know."

"I just don't like him that way."

"Well maybe if you give him a _chance_, you might."

The oven timer goes off then, and he waits until Kurt leaves to go check on his pie before he starts walking down the stairs. Rachel is standing near the couch, a thoughtful look on her face. She's wearing a skirt, but it's looser, which is a good thing. It was bad enough that he was kind of creeping on his little brother's bestfriend the other day, he doesn't want to spend the whole dinner doing the same thing. She's wearing a sweater with heart prints all over it, and she looks more like the Rachel Berry he knew before he left college, and it's- well it's comforting for some reason.

"Hey Rachel," he calls out when he reaches the last step. Her eyes widen in surprise when she sees him as she straightens up immediately. She almost looks like she's blushing, but he's pretty sure that's just the lighting.

"_Finn_. Hi. Where's um- where's Teddy?"

"He's asleep. You know, long day."

"Yeah, I saw you two playing you soldiers out on in the front lawn this morning. I mean, you know, not that I was staring or anything. I was-"

"Yeah, we had a lot fun," he cuts in, smiling. Her shoulder relaxes as she recirpocates.

"That's good," she says, less awkwardly. "He really misses you, you know. He talks about you a lot."

"He does?"

"Yeah. It's always 'Finn did this', or, 'he said that'. Or 'Finn just bought me this cool sweatshirt from college'. I mean, it's cute."

"Yeah, he said that you babysit a lot," he says. They're standing in front of each other by now, and he takes a sit on his dad's old armchair when he realizes that he was kind of looming over her. Rachel shrugs, taking a seat on the edge of the couch.

"Drama club hasn't really been all that busy, and Kurt has a boyfriend now, so I have a lot of time in my hands. Besides, I'm saving up for New York."

"Oh so you're definitely going?" he asks. For as long as he's known her, since his mom married Burt and they moved here when he was eleven, he's known that Rachel wants to be on Broadway. In fact, that was how she and Kurt became bestfriends in the first place. Finn went through his whole life up until that point not knowing that musicals even existed, and suddenly he was stuck with a weird stepbrother who talked like no other boy he knew, and a strange girl who liked to sing all the time. Over time he guesses he kind of grew to accept it. Kurt is still the most flamboyant boy he knows, and the last time he checked, Rachel was still that girl who sang all the time, but nine years on, he's used to it by now.

"Well, I haven't applied to NYADA _yet_, but-"

"I'm sure you'll get it," he says. "I mean, you're the best singer I've ever heard in my life."

"Really?" she asks. He always finds it funny when Rachel doubts herself, mostly because she's honestly the most confident person he's ever met in his life, but also because well, she's confident because she's good.

"You're like the most talented person I know," he confesses. "Just, you know, don't tell Kurt I said that."

"Thanks, Finn," she answers, a shy smile on her face. She puts a hand on his thigh, squeezes it gratefully, and he's not entirely sure why her touch seems to zing through every part of his body. Her eyes are warm as she looks at him, and it's kind of mind boggling right now, because, Rachel Berry doesn't feel like she's just his brother's bestfriend anymore.

Xxx

They sit next to each other at the dinner table, barely saying anything to one another that was more personal than "can you pass the salad" and "thank you". He busies himself by answering question after question from her fathers. They're asking him about college, and he's pretty sure they're like, taking notes for future references. Rachel keeps fidgeting next to him, probably because she's embarrassed by all the questions, but he doesn't really mind it.

"What about the bathrooms?" Hiram Berry asks him. "Do you share them with the ladies?"

"Well, yeah if you live in a shared dorm-"

"But how do these girls get their privacy. How can-"

"Daddy," Rachel hisses next to him. "_God_."

"Rachel, we're just-"

"How about your classes, Finn?" she asks loudly, turning to him and resolutely ignoring the disgruntled look on her father's face. He grins at the blush on her cheeks.

"They're great. I mean, they're relatively new, since I just switched this semester."

"Oh? What are you taking?"

"Music Education." Her eyes widen in surprise (it's starting to be a pattern with them, he notices) at his answer, and he shrugs.

"Yeah. I just- well I decided to switch majors at the end of the last semester. I mean, I know it's a little out of left field-"

"You're a great drummer," she blurts out. It's his turn to be surprised, and she looks down immediately, turning red again. He turns a little to see that Kurt is talking to his mom, and that Hiram and Leroy are in a heated discussion with Burt about baseball. He turns back towards Rachel, and she's looking at him a little hesitantly.

"Thanks," he murmurs. She nods quietly before taking a sip of water, and they go back to their food in silence as he pretends to listen to the conversation around them. He's really just a little distracted by the way she's picking at her salad.

"It's um-" he starts, clearing his throat. "I know that everyone's kind of surprised, you know, with my major."

"I think it's awesome," she says earnestly. She finally looks up at him, and he shoots her a small, hesitant smile that seems to embolden her. "I always knew you were musical, you just never admitted it to any of us."

"Oh you did, huh?" he asks teasingly. She grins.

"_Yes_. Remember when Kurt and I used to sing songs from Barbra's best musicals and you'd refuse to join us?"

"That's because I never knew what the heck you guys were singing."

"Yeah, but you'd always end up tapping along to the beat anyway."

"I did?" he asks curiously. He didn't realize he did that. She nods, looking down like she's embarrassed.

"And um- that band you and Puck joined back in high school."

"Oh God, you mean that terrible cover band?" he asks, groaning. She looks up with a grin.

"It wasn't _that_ bad. It had a great drummer," she offers. He chuckles.

"You think so?" he asks.

"Yes. You're very talented, Finn," she answers warmly. Her brown eyes seem to sparkle in the light, and her smile is almost coquettish when she catches his eye. "I should know. I'm very talented too."

He laughs at that, nodding his head in agreement as he takes a sip of water. He turns and catches Kurt staring at them, an odd look on his face. Kurt raises an eyebrow at him, and sends him a look that he ignores. They go through the rest of dinner in silence.

Xxx

"Were you flirting with my bestfriend?" Kurt asks him demandingly when they pass each other in the hallway.

"Dude," he mutters. "_No_."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asks, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Finn rolls his eyes, proceeds to ignore the smaller boy and slips by him to enter his room. "You better not be!" Kurt calls out after him. "Because she has a date tomorrow."

"She's not just your bestfriend, you know," Finn says once his inside. Kurt raises an eyebrow, and opens his big mouth, but Finn cuts him to it. "She's also our neighbor, so like, you don't get dibs or anything. Oh, and by the way. You better tell her about that date soon, or she's going to kill you."

Xxx

He's out in the backyard, climbing up their old treehouse with Teddy when he hears her scream Kurt's name, and it doesn't sound like a pleasant scream. He sees Rachel storm out of her back door, making a beeline towards his, not even seeing him as he stands on the makeshift steps of the treehouse. He grins to himself.

"Finn!" His head snaps up to find Teddy looking impatiently at him and hurries to climb up.

He's pretty sure Rachel just heard about her date tonight.

Xxx

He's packing his bag for the morning, basically stuffing all of the clean shirts (thank you mom) he has into a small duffel bag, when he hears the sound of a car door slam. He ignores this inexplicable urge to look out his window, because regardless of what Kurt believes, he _wasn't_ flirting with Rachel Berry, and he _doesn't_ care that she just went on a date with some blue-eyed, blonde dumb jock who looked like he was auditioning for like, a Gap ad or something. Yes, he knows he's generalizing and that a few years ago, he _was_ that dumb jock, but seriously. Whatever.

He shoves everything into a the duffel bag, zips it, and throws it on the floor next to his bed. It's 10.30, which is like, really early for a date, right? Ignoring his better judgment, Finn walks towards the windows, throwing his curtains back. Rachel's room is just opposite his. Back when they first moved in, Kurt used to beg him to switch rooms so that he could have the window seat right in front of Rachel's balcony. They were planning to have one of those 'secret code' thing or whatever, between the two of them, and Finn was in the way. But, they'd just moved in, which meant that their parents had just gotten married, and he was still a little sulky about having to move away from his friends, so he didn't let Kurt have it. Plus, the room's bigger and he gets his own bathroom, so.

Having their rooms so close together did kind of drive him crazy when he was younger though. See, Rachel had this habit of going out to her balcony in the evenings to practice her vocal scales, _every_ single night. At one point, he almost wished he did change rooms with Kurt, until Burt helped them build the treehouse anyway, and then he just took to hanging out in it every night after dinner. She hasn't done that since her freshman year though, when she joined the Glee club with Kurt. He was already a junior by then, which meant that he was way above the fresh meat in school, but he did warn his brother that Glee club was social suicide, which of course, Kurt didn't heed . Kurt and Rachel were pretty lucky that Finn had as much pull as he did, frankly speaking, because his reputation was about the only thing that saved them from getting slushied in the face every week .

Anyway, that was years ago, and he's in college now and Rachel and Kurt are seniors, and it's been what, two years since high school? Rachel's like that kid sister he never asked for, you know? Her and Kurt were like, attached at the hip or something, so he used to just automatically look out for her too, and that's why he's so curious, you know? Like, he's being the protective older brother right now.

Yeah.

Her blinds are closed (good, 'cause he's not a creeper), and so are her lights, and he's about to turn away from the window, when light suddenly filters from her room. So she's home. That's good, he guesses. He turns away, because again, he's not a creeper or anything like that. He was just curious to see if it was her, and it was, and that's that.

He doesn't really realize what's he's doing until _after_ he's sent the message, that he'd basically just texted her.

_That was a quick date._

What the hell is he _doing_? God. He groans, throwing the phone on the bed. He did not just do that. His phone lights up in a minute, and it takes him another minute before he looks at it.

_Are you stalking me? _

He stares at it for a while, not sure if she's kidding or not. He thinks about the way she'd smiled yesterday while she teased him, and decides that she is. He laughs, picking up his phone to reply. They banter for a little while, and he almost forgets that he's talking to Rachel Berry, his next door neighbor and kid-sister-by-extension. He's _not_ flirting. He's just- talking to an old friend. He doesn't notice that an hour has gone by until she asks him when he's leaving. He looks at his alarm clock to see that it's almost midnight, and smiles ruefully.

_In about six hours._

She doesn't reply for the longest time, and he thinks maybe she fell asleep. Maybe. It's almost one when she finally does, and he wasn't waiting or anything, he just can't sleep.

_Let's go to the treehouse._

Xxx

He gets to the treehouse in record time, pulling on his clothes over his boxers and making a beeline for the back door. He notices the faint light coming from the tree, and his heart drums against his chest. Which is, you know, ridiculous. Because this is _Rachel_. He ignores Kurt's voice at the back of his head telling him that he's flirting, and climbs up the rickety steps.

She's sitting at the far end of the treehouse, which isn't that far to be honest, because they're both technically too big now to fit in it together. A flashlight is on the floor in front of her, and when the floors creak under his weight, she whips it up and aims it at him.

"Finn?" she asks, her voice slightly alarmed.

"Yeah," he says out loud. "It's me."

"Oh. Good." She waits for him to climb in, and at this point, he can't really stand up here anymore, so he crawls on all fours until he reaches her. She's sitting with her legs pulled up in front of her, in her shorts and a cardigan, and he shoots her a quick smile when their eyes meet. The treehouse is basically at full capacity right now, his legs are basically hanging out the door because they're too long to stay inside. It's incredibly hard to hold his body so he doesn't bump into her.

"Uh, hi," he murmurs once he stops fidgeting. In the faint light, he sees her face break out into a small smile.

"Hi," she whispers back. It's so late and so completely _silent_, and all he hears is the sound of their breathing, and suddenly this treehouse feels even smaller than it is.

"How was um- how was your date?" he finally asks. She looks away, playing with the frayed edge of her cardigan. His eyes follow her fingers, focusing on the pink wool and refusing to look down at her legs or that really low cut of her tank top.

"It was okay, I guess," she mumbles. The fabric rises and falls with every word. "He- he took me to Breadstix."

"Well, that's pretty classy," he jokes quietly, finally looking up. She smiles.

"His name is Sam, and he's a new kid at school."

"So you really like him?" he asks nonchalantly. She stares at symbols on his shirt and shrugs.

"He really likes me," she answers a little doubtfully. "At least, that's what Kurt says."

"Well he did just take you to Breadstix."

"Yeah, yeah I know. He's sweet, and funny, and really nice."

He helped Teddy to move his chest of toy soldiers up here earlier, and he notices that it's digging into her back, and he wonders if maybe she's trying hard not to bump into him too.

"But?" he asks. She looks at him.

"But what?"

"It just sounds like there's a but coming," he answers, shrugging.

"There's no- there's no but."

"Oh."

"I mean, he likes me, you know? So why would there be a but? He's trying out for the football team. He's _really_ good. I mean, I've seen him throw a football around with Blaine. Not, that I know how the game goes, but he- he throws well."

"Oh. Well, good."

"Yes. He's very good. And- and it's senior year, you know. Prom is coming up. And it's- it's fun, right? Dating? I mean, I only ever had Jesse to compare it with, and that was kind of a disaster but-"

"It's fun," he agrees, cutting off her rambling. She turns to look at him, nodding stiffly, and well, she looks kind of cute doing that, you know? She's kind of cute.

"You're laughing at me," she mumbles, blushing when he laughs.

"I'm not," he says quickly. "I swear. It's just- okay, I am, but it's funny."

"My predicament is _funny_?" she asks, insulted. He grins.

"No," he corrects her. "You are. You're a funny girl, Rachel Berry. It's a good thing. I mean, I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

It's awkward again, and he wonders how many minutes have passed by. It kind of feels like it's been _hours_.

"Kurt says that I shoud have a boyrfriend. He said that it's senior year, you know, and that I should have fun."

"You should."

"Get a boyfriend?"

"No, no. I mean have fun. And- and that too, if you want one."

She makes an angry sound at the back of her throat, and he looks up to find her eyes narrowed.

"He told me to make the first move, and then he set me up behind my _back_," she mutters furiously, and Finn's not sure if he's supposed to hear this.

"Yeah, he's kind of nosy like that," he says, nodding. "Back before our parents dated, he used to get Burt to talk to my mom by pretending to be sick all the time. She was the school nurse."

"He did?"

"Yup. And well, they ended up married, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Are you saying that Kurt is possibly setting me up with my future husband?"

"No. I just _mean_ that he likes to butt into people's business-"

"Like, all the time."

"But he means well, and- and sometimes it works out. Of course, he was _also_ the dude who sent like, pictures of me 'modeling' to a bunch of agencies when I was sixteen, and I still haven't heard from one of them. So he's not always right. It really messed with my self-esteem."

"I remember that!" she exclaims, laughing at the pout on his face.

"That stays a secret between the three of us," he threatens mockingly. She giggles.

"The secret is still safe with me," she promises with a grin. They've both relaxed their postures, and her head is on his shoulder by this point, and maybe the cramped space isn't so bad.

"He says that I should try making the first move," she tells him suddenly.

"With Sam?"

"With any guy I'm interested in."

"And is there anyone?"

She doesn't say anything, but she leans forward to take her flashlight, playfully shining it in his face before she shrugs.

"There is one," she says slowly. He smiles at her, and it feels more like a grimace for some reason.

"Then make your move."

Xxx

They leave the treehouse when it's almost four in the morning. She has school in a few hours, and well, he has a long drive back to campus and needs an early start on the coffee. He climbs down first, standing by the tree as she goes next, carefully holding her by the waist to help her down.

"Thanks," she murmurs when her feet touch the grass.

"No problem."

They stand close together, her large brown eyes fluttering up at him, and he pulls her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. She freezes for just a second before her arms wind around his waist.

"I really did miss you, you know," she mumbles into his shirt. "While you were gone."

"Well it won't be another year before I come back," he tells her. "I mean, I promised mom I'll come home more."

"Good."

She smells like apples, and vanilla, he never noticed that before. He pulls away, smiling down at her.

"I guess we'll see each other sooner than you thought," he says. She smiles.

"I guess so. Goodnight, Finn."

"Night, Rach."

He watches as she turns, walks straight and crosses into her own yard, until she's safe inside her house, before he turns back to his. His head is full tonight as he thinks of her, and- well maybe Kurt was right. He _was_ flirting with his brother's bestfriend. And he liked it. A lot. He likes her a lot. He's not sure when things changed, or how it _could_ change so quickly, but she's funny, and sweet, and she's beautiful and he- well, he likes her.

He- someone taps him on the back and he almost jumps out of his skin. He whips around to find Rachel standing nervously behind him.

"You _scared_ me," he hisses, his heartbeat receding at the sight of her. She looks apologetic, but like she's trying not to laugh, and he pretends to glare at her but it only makes her giggle. "What?" he finally asks, his face breaking into a grin.

She smiles, moves a little bit closer, and suddenly it's hard for him to breathe. There's a determined look on her face, one that he's seen many, many times, but never aimed at him. He knows what's happening, like he's not dumb, but he can't seem to make himself move when she leans up on her tiptoes. Her arms reach out to pull him down by the shoulders, and the next thing he knows-

Well. He's kissing Rachel Berry.

Her lips are soft and warm, and _eager_, her fingers combing through his hair when he finally pulls her close. One of his hands is pulling her face towards him, the other beneath her tank top, on the hot skin of her back as he pulls her up and kisses her deeper. His tongue is in her mouth, and her legs are clamped around his waist, and he's not sure how that happened, but he's not complaining. She lets out a little squeak when her back hits his door, and that's when he pulls away.

"I-" he pants, breathless. His grip on her is tight, his fingers digging into her waist. Her lips are swollen, her hair disheveled, but her smile is the brightest that he's ever seen.

"I just made the first move," she tells him proudly, and he bursts out laughing.

Xxx

He comes home at least once a month, and his mom is only suspicious for the first three months, until she catches them in the basement one day, and you know, he's too old to be grounded, but Rachel didn't come over for the whole weekend. Over time, she learns to be grateful about it, because he's home a _lot_. Teddy's ecstatic, of course.

They've been trying to hide it from Kurt, but he's been trying to get Rachel to start dating, and well, Finn's really not okay with that.

"We should just tell him," he mutters. They're in her room, and Rachel's trapped into another double date with Kurt tonight, and he really, _really_ just wants to spend what little time he has with his girlfriend, you know? He has to go back to campus the next day because he has a quiz on Monday, and he's not down with having his girlfriend out on a date during his weekend home.

"You know he's going to freak out," she murmurs against his neck. Rachel is straddling him in her underwear, and talking about Kurt is the last thing he wants to do, and like, _talking_ is the last thing he wants to do, but she's just- she's _not_ going on this date tonight, okay?

"He'll freak out even if we wait a hundred years," he points out.

"Yeah, but if we wait until high school's over, I won't have to listen to him bitch about it every day at school."

"But-"

"Baby," she mumbles, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips. "I don't want to spend our time talking, do you?"

She flutters her eyelashes at him, giving him this totally coy look, and he grins as he flips them around. She grins when her back hits the bed, laughing when he blows a raspberry against her neck.

"Finn!" she groans, her laughter contagious. "Stop that!"

They're a little too preoccupied to notice the knob turning, or the gasp that followed, and it isn't until Rachel finally pushes him off that he sees Kurt standing in the doorway, his face a million shades of purple.

"_Finn_!" Kurt yells, his voice the shrillest they've ever heard. "I _told_ you not to flirt with my bestfriend!"


	2. you and me

**A/N: This has been a really hard time for me, as I'm sure it has been for all of you too. I'd like to tell you that I will keep writing, but I don't really know when I'll be ready for that yet. But thank you for all your messages, they were very sweet.**

* * *

He knows it's bad when he can hear Don't Rain on My Parade loud and clear as he makes his way up the street to her house. Okay, he _already_ knows it's bad. He winces when Barbra hits her high note, but when Rachel turns the volume up on Funny Girl in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday, it's really bad. He could only imagine the calls her parents have been getting from the neighbors (they got pretty intense that one week when she'd do her vocal warm ups out on their patio every night before her glee club audition). Finn shakes his head, his tall, lanky frame rushing to the door as he glances down at the ammunition in his hand with a grim nod of his head. He rings the doorbell three times before one of her dads answers, and when Hiram Berry sees him, his worried demeanor changes immediately into one of relief.

"Finn," he exclaims loudly, clapping him on the back as he pulls the boy in. "Come in! I'm so glad to see you."

"Hey Mr. B," he says in an equally loud voice. Hiram shoots a brief smile in his direction before his eye shoots up the stairs the solemn expression back on his face. "It's bad huh?"

"I'm sure you can hear the music from the end of the street," her father answers wryly. Finn nods, because yeah, that's true. Rachel's other father comes in from the living room then, smiling when he sees Finn. He likes her dads. They're tall, like him, and when he was going through his growth spurt (he's still kind of growing though), and everyone at school was calling him a beanpole and stuff, her dads totally made it easier for him when they showed their old pictures. Hiram told him that he's going to be a stud once he grows into his body, and not to sound arrogant or anything, but he kind of is since he made it onto the football team.

Being freakishly tall's not so bad these days either, since it's totally easier for him to check out a girl's rack without looking like a total perv, but _anyway_. He says a quick hello to Leroy before Hiram turns to his husband with a huge frown on his face, and turns back to Finn.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea," Hiram says as he leans closer to Finn, almost conspiratorially. "I told her, Rachel honey, are you sure about this? I don't trust that Puckerman kid, not since he almost ran over poor Judas with that loud motorcycle of his down by the temple a few months back. I told her that, didn't I Leroy?" He turns briefly to Leroy who nods while he rolls his eyes and smiles apologetically at Finn who's awkwardly grabbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah," Finn mumbles.

"She hasn't come out of her room ever since she came home crying yesterday," Hiram told him worriedly. "Get her to come out, okay Finn?"

"Well, I've got my ammunition," he says awkwardly, holding up the box of double stuffed Oreos in his hand. Hiram smiles at him, clapping his back once again before ushering him up the steps to her room.

He seriously doesn't know how she hasn't busted an eardrum by now, the volume of the movie is so loud, but he hurries up the steps and to her room, tentatively knocking on her door. Then it hits him that probably can't hear him and knocks a little harder.

"I don't want a glass of water daddy!" she yells through the door, and her voice sounds hoarse, like she's been crying real hard and he sighs, knocking the door quickly three times before he stops and knocks once, repeating the melody. They came up with that knock when they were like, eight okay? Shut up.

"Rachel," he calls out. "It's me."

There's merciful silence for a few seconds as she mutes her TV, but the volume turns up again and he frowns.

"Rachel," he says loudly. "Open up, it's Finn."

"Go away!" she yells. His brows crease together in confusion at the fury in her voice. What's she mad at _him_ for anyway?

"Rach c'mon," he says. "I have Oreos!"

"No!"

"They're double stuffed!"

It's quiet again, and he grins to himself when he listens to her shuffling and the bolt in her room unlatching. The door opens just a crack and he catches a glimpse of Rachel drowning in her bright pink robe, her hair all over the place and her eyes swollen. An inexplicable shot of anger shoots up his spine at Noah Puckerman, and yeah Puck may be his wing man, but Rachel's his best friend, and Finn's going to beat the shit out of that dude when he sees him.

"Gimme," she says quietly, her voice hoarse as she shoves her palm upwards through the door.

"You gotta let me in first," he says quietly. She shakes her head stubbornly. "C'mon Rachel. Please?"

"No. You're _his_ friend," she mutters darkly. He feels a little insulted by that insinuation, and kind of hurt to be honest, but he shrugs it off.

"Dude, I'm like your best friend," he points out.

"No you're a boy, and all boys are the same. And you can just go ahead and go to your little boys club, and tell Noah how _pathetic_ I am for crying over him because I'm such a weak little prude, and how I'm crying my eyes out with my loud mouth-"

"Did he say that?" he cuts in sharply. _Fuck_, he told the ass to let her down easy. Rachel sighs, looking away.

"Go away Finn. And give me my Oreos."

"Nope," he says nonchalantly, pushing past her to step into her room despite her protests. There is a pile of tissues on the floor next to her bed and he barely glances at the TV screen to see Fanny Brice frozen with her mouth open. He sits on the edge of her bed while she stands near the door with her arms crossed angrily over her chest. She looks like a little animal, like a mouse or something as her body caves in on herself. Her cheeks are totally puffy from all that crying and he thinks of a chipmunk. Yeah that's it. Rachel looks like a tiny little chipmunk right now. A very pissed off tiny little chipmunk, who looks like she's about to pelt him with her secret stash of acorns any second.

"C'mere," he tells her, patting the space next to him. She shakes her head once resolutely and he rolls his eyes. "Rach, c'mon. You know I'm not leaving."

She lets out the loudest dramatic sigh that she could muster before she makes her way to him and he hides his smile. Even when she's heartbroken, she's being a drama queen. Of course, he shouldn't have expected anything else. She stands in front of him with her hand on her hips and he pulls against her right hand gently, placing the box of Oreos on her palm.

"You know I totally went down to the 7-11 to get you this," he tells her softly. "I had to walk like, four blocks 'cause my mom took the car out." She pushes her bottom lip out, pouting as she stares down at the cookies in her hand before she mutters a small thanks.

"I'm gonna hug you now, okay?" he says a little teasingly. Rachel always says that before she attacks anyone with her hugs. She's like, tiny, but her hugs are anything but, so he gets why she feels the need to, but he still laughs at her for it. An almost smile graces her face before she rolls her eyes.

"If you want to," she answers, shrugging.

"I want to," he tells her, placing his hands on either side of her waist to pull her closer before he wraps his arms around her. It takes her a few seconds before she reciprocates, winding her arms over his shoulder and pushing her face into his neck. He feels her hot tears against his skin and pulls her closer, right onto his lap.

"I'm sorry Rach," he mumbles into her hair, soothingly rubbing her back in a circular motion.

"Why?" she mumbles. Her hot breath grazes his skin and he feels the hair on the back of his head stand on end, but he pushes the feeling away because this is _Rachel_ and she's his best friend, and he's not a pervert. "It's not your fault."

"I'm sorry he's an ass," he mutters. He feels the curve of her smile before she pulls back with a small giggle.

"He kind of is, isn't he?" she says wryly. He nods his head, keeping mum.

The back of his head is filled with reminders of how he told her so. He _told_ her Puck was in it for nothing more than just a good time, because he _knows_ the dude, and Puckerman prides himself in being the love 'em and leave 'em kind. But she wouldn't listen, and then it got _weird_ when she told him that maybe he was just jealous, and then it got _awkward,_ and they both just stopped speaking until the whole thing blew over and yeah okay, they dated longer than Puck's ever dated anyone.

Granted, three months isn't that long of a time, but for Puck, that's like a _whole_ fucking year, and Finn was almost convinced that he meant it this time, until he caught the dude flirting with one of the cheerleaders from the rival school on their away game a few weeks back. By flirting, he meant that the asshole was sticking his hand up the girl's uniform, and after about ten minutes of shoving the guy up against the wall while she walked away, Puck told him that he and Rachel were kind of dead. Well, Rachel sure as hell didn't think so when she'd called Finn earlier and told him to tell Puck good luck and that she was wearing the dude's letterman as a symbol because she couldn't be there herself.

"She's a prude man," Puck had muttered, and that had resulted in Finn shoving him up against the wall for another good ten minutes until he apologized.

"But dude, she totally is. I mean, okay she's cute and stuff, but like, it's been three months man, and I haven't gotten even half a _boob_. These babies haven't even gone anywhere within the _region_ of her tits-"

"_God_ Puck," he had muttered in distaste as Puck held up his hands in front of him. The idea of Puck making out with his best friend kinda made him feel like throwing up, but the idea of Rachel sitting at home all excited while her fucking boyfriend is rounding second base with some random chick made him feel even sicker.

"I'm a sex shark, dude. The Puck has _needs_."

Finn's not even going to _mention_ how disturbing it was to know that Puck calls his penis 'the Puck', and he totally ignored that comment as he told him to break up with her.

He spent the next few weeks giving Puck meaningful looks and glaring daggers at the guy every time he so much as laid a hand on Rachel.

"Aww man, it's those fucking Bambi eyes," Puck moaned in the locker room. "I can't do it."

"What's the big deal?" he asked tersely, shoving his deodorant back into his locker before grabbing his shirt. "You dump girls all the fucking time."

"Yeah, but Rachel has that fucking look on her face every time she thinks I'm about to do it, and _shit_, man you know what I mean."

Of course he fucking knows what he meant. He'd known Rachel ever since she talked his ear off when they sat next to each other in Miss Perry's kindergarten class, he knows _all_ her looks.

"Well, tough luck. I swear Puckerman, if you keep leading her on-"

"Can't you do it for me?"

"Fuck you, man."

"Dude-"

"I swear to _God_ Puck-"

"Okay okay! I'll do it tomorrow," Puck muttered, holding his hands up defensively.

"And go easy on her," Finn demanded. Puck rolled his eyes and said nothing, and the next day, when Finn waited for her at her locker when school was over and she hadn't shown up, he knew it was done for. She hadn't picked up any one of his calls and wouldn't let him in when he came over and shit, he didn't know what the standard procedure for a break up was.

He still kind of feels like he's supposed to be kicking Puck's ass now or something, even though he was the one who told him to break up with her. But Rachel look so upset and he hates to see her cry. She's still sitting on his lap and looking sad, and he shoots her a tiny smile, shifting back on the bed. He manoeuvres them over to the headboard, reaching out for her remote to press play, and the volume assaults his ears once again.

"I'mma turn it down a little, okay?" he whispers in her ear, and she nods. He turns the volume down until it reaches normal human level. He's sitting with his feet sprawled in front of him on her bed, and she curls up next to him and leans her head on his shoulder. She's so upset, she's not even bothered by the fact that his dirty sneakers are on her bedspread, but he leans forward and takes them off anyway, dropping them to the side of her bed. When he turns around, the box of cookies are already open, and she's going through her first packet of Oreos, stuffing her face with three of them at once.

He can't help the chuckle that escapes him when his mind goes back to the chipmunk reference, and she looks at him inquisitively.

"Storing food for the winter, Rach?" he teases. She looks confused, her large brown eyes furrowed close together and her cheeks puffed up from the Oreos still in her mouth. "You look like a chipmunk."

She rolls her eyes, chewing quickly and swallowing before she glares at him.

"Now is not the time to make fun of me Hudson," she grumbles.

"I'm not! You look cute. Hey, chipmunks are cute," he protests when she smacks his arm.

"Yeah, sure," she mutters under her breath. She quiets down, and the fire that was in her eyes just a few seconds ago dies out again. He doesn't say anything, pulling her against him. He sits quietly, not moving an inch as he trains his eyes onto the screen. He doesn't even steal one of her Oreos, because he knows she'll probably smack him again. She blows through the first packet in ten minutes, and it's kind of alarming to see her viciously tear the next packet open and pulling out three Oreos to stuff into her mouth again.

"I mean," she says suddenly with her mouth full. She sits up, and he sees anger crossing her features. "I gave him everything, Finn!" she yells and he winces. She's totally spewing Oreo flecks all over his face right now, but okay, now is not the time to think about how disgusting that is. "_Everything_. What more does he _want_?"

He looks at her. She's looking back at him expectantly, like she's waiting for an answer, and he decides to be blunt.

"Your boobs," he says bluntly. Her eyes widen and she looks down for a second (his eyes are _not_ following her gaze. Nope.).

"_What_?" she hisses.

"You won't let him touch your boobs-"

"Oh my _God_!" she yells, her face burning as she takes Herman, her stuffed elephant and smacks him in the chest with it. "Don't be crude Finn."

"Dude! You _asked_."

"I- I-" she stutters, eyes still wide. She's sitting on her knees on the bed, eyes wide as she looks at him, and well, at least she's not crying anymore. "Why are boys such _perverts_?"

He doesn't really have an answer for that one. She's still blushing like a fire hydrant and he almost grins at the look on her face.

"Is that _all_ you think about?" she demands. He shrugs.

"Pretty much, yeah. And like, Rachel, it's _Puck_. I'm pretty sure he thinks about it like, a million times more than the average dude."

"I- But he never- I mean-"

"Never pressured you into anything?" he asks curiously. She shakes her head, and at least that's one thing he doesn't have to punch Puck in the face for.

"I mean, he always, you know, _tried_ to put his hands there. And sometimes he-"

"_Ahhh_ Rachel!" he yells, clapping his hands over his ears at her words. "_Gross_! I don't want to hear this."

"But Finn-"

"No! Are you _kidding_ me?" he exclaims, stubbornly refusing to let her pulls his hands away. She tries a few more times but he stands his ground and after a few seconds she stops, deflating as she leans back against the headboard and stares glumly at the TV. He cautiously puts his hands back on his lap.

"I just want to know what I did wrong," she mumbles quietly. He sighs. He turns towards her, nudging her shoulder until she looks at him.

"Rach, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why-"

"Look he's an ass, okay? And like, he wants more than you wanna give, and there's nothing wrong with that. You shouldn't- there's nothing _wrong_ with you for not wanting to."

"But-"

"I'm sorry he hurt you Rach, but like, you deserve better, you know?"

"How do _you_ know?" she demands, like she's actually worried that she doesn't or something, and like, is she insane?

"Dude," he says, wrapping an arm around her to pull her close. " "Cause you're my best friend, and I know you better than anyone. And Rachel, you're like, the coolest girl I know. I mean, yeah sure you're kinda intense, but that's awesome too. And Puckerman's an idiot, because I don't know how he can know you and _not_ love you, because that's like the easiest thing in the world to do, believe me."

He's blushing furiously, thanking God that her head is on his chest because that means she's not looking at him. He didn't really mean to say all that. Like, not like _that_ at least. Aw hell, he feels the awkwardness creeping in, and the last time that happened, it was 'cause she told him he was jealous of Puck and it made him all confused until he decided to just forget about it.

"Finn," she says quietly.

"Hmm?" he says, trying to keep his tone in check. He feels her arms going around his waist, and suddenly she's hugging him so tightly, he can barely breathe. Rachel turns her face into his chest, rubbing it against his shirt when he moves his hand from between her shoulder blades to rest just above her hips.

"Thank you," she mumbles against him. He relaxes, smiling when she squeezes him again before she loosens her hold.

"That's what best friends are for," he murmurs. She nods against him. She looks up, scooting up the bed until they're face to face, and there's an earnest smile on her face as she takes his face in her hands.

"I love you so much Hudson," she tells him solemnly, before her face breaks into a giant beam and she kisses his cheek. He chuckles. She's still squishing his face and he knows he looks ridiculous with his cheeks pressed to his teeth. He probably looks like a chipmunk too by now, he thinks wryly. She giggles when he wiggles his eyebrows.

"I love you too Berry."


	3. and i move my feet towards you

Look, he didn't mean to crash their date, alright?

Honest, all he wanted to do for the night was to get a cup of espresso, _maybe_ two, find some secluded place in this stinking coffee shop and drown himself in the sea of numbers that he can't seem to understand no matter how hard he tries (Remind him again how Pre-Calc 1 was a good idea?). He wasn't the one who noticed them in the first place. It was Sam who called his name from way over on the other side of the small café. And yeah, okay, he went over to say hi, and maybe he should have left right after, but Sam invited him to stay and his date, well, Finn's seen her around campus, you know? He's pretty sure that they share a class, but he can't remember which one just yet.

So now he's kind of sitting between them like an idiot, and Sam's doing his impressions, but Rachel's fake laughing when she's not stealing glances at Finn, and he's pretty sure it's because she feels uncomfortable with him around, and like, who wouldn't be, you know? So he clears his throat in the interval between Sam's Sean Connery, just before he jumps into Matthew McConaughey .

"Dude, I-"

"You're in Dr. Cooper's class, right?" He turns in surprise to find her looking at him curiously. Sam's kind of oblivious to everything right now, the dude has this huge frown on his face because he can't seem to get his accent down (They share a room, Finn has had to go through one _whole_ weekend of Sam speaking nothing but Na'vi to him. The fact that he even knows what Na'vi _is_ shows how serious Sam is about his impressions).

"Yeah, yeah. Pre-Calc- hey that's where you're from!" he exclaims. She starts at his loud voice, and he tones it down, blushing.

"Sorry," he murmurs apologetically, grabbing the back of his neck. "I just- you look really familiar and I've been trying to place you all night."

She smiles then, this really huge beam that makes her eyes shine, and he remembers her as that girl from the first day of class, walking into the room in her turtlenecked owl sweater, a criminally short skirt and that smile on her face. He can't believe he forgot her, but she's sitting next to him now in this little black halter dress that sticks everywhere, and she has smoky eyes and a slight frown on her face and she just looks nothing like, well, her. She shoots him a small grin, and Sam is still muttering to himself under his breath.

"You always sit in the back of the class," she says. "With a boy in a wheelchair-"

"Artie."

"I've noticed you."

She looks away awkwardly after she says that, but it's not like that's weird or anything, because he's noticed her too, you know? So he holds out his hand expectantly until she takes it.

"I'm Finn Hudson," he says, smiling. Sam already introduced him as just Finn, and she's just Rachel, but hey this is the first time they're actually speaking. Her hand is really soft and tiny and it's being dwarfed by his giant paw, but he thinks it's cute that she's so small but seems so big at the same time.

"Rachel Berry." He doesn't realize how long he's been holding her hand until she starts to blush, probably because she's too nice to tell him that he's being a creep.

"Alright, alright, alright," Sam drawls and they let go immediately to turn back towards him. "I see a pretty little lady in the room, maybe it's time to take my shirt off."

"Spot on, dude," he mutters dryly. Rachel turns to look at him, and giggles.

Xxx

"So, how long have you known Sam?"

He doesn't know what he's still doing here, being the third wheel on Sam's date, but Sam has been doing impressions _all_ night long, and he always loves an audience, so he doesn't seem to mind. And Finn and Rachel, well they don't really mind _being_ that audience since it makes the guy so happy, and they've been talking too, and she's totally better at Pre-Calc than he is and just offered to tutor him, so _score_. Rachel's actually a really cool girl. She's majoring in theatre so he doesn't know what the hell she's doing in his class, but she's a junior too, and she has kick-ass music knowledge. She just about had a coronary when he told her that he drums, and there was one point where she'd grabbed his thigh excitedly and muttered under her breath that they need to jam together. She's really pretty too, and he honestly cannot understand how Sam is wasting this date with his impressions instead of getting to know the girl better. The dude just left them to go to the bathroom, but they barely notice his absence.

"We're roommates," he tells her, taking another sip of his coffee. "So for about a year now. He's a really great guy. Really loyal and stuff, you know? Plus, his roommate skills are even better than his impressions, so yeah, he's awesome."

"Ah."

"Are you guys in a class together too?"

"Oh no, I've never met him before actually. My- well, _my_ roommate Brittany set us up. She does _not_ have awesome roommate skills like Sam. In fact, she's kind of unbearable sometimes, because I'm pretty sure she set me up tonight because she wants to use our room with her girlfriend."

"Oh no," Finn says jokingly when she shudders. "But at least you're having a good time, right?"

"I'm starting to," she smiles. And okay, so he's not like the most perceptive guy in the world, but he's pretty sure those words are aimed at him right now, because of the way she's blushing and that cute beam on her face. He knows he should feel bad about this, but Sam barely even _knows_ the girl, apparently, and it's not like she's a _thing_ they can put dibs on or anything.

It's totally fair play. Completely.

"Yeah?" he asks, leaning just a little bit closer towards her. She shrugs.

"I just, I didn't expect to have as much fun today, until you showed up."

"I _am_ a pretty fun guy."

"And Sam's really sweet, and his impressions are wonderful, but we've barely said two real sentences to each other, and- and communication is very important for every budding relationship. Don't you agree?"

"I do."

"Plus, he was the one who called you over. Who calls their friends over while they're on a _date_?"

"This is totally his fault," Finn agrees. He can't seem to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face, but she's wearing one too, and he can't remember the last time he's ever felt this way about a girl. He really, really likes her. She's taking his hand, and she's writing her number on his palm with this pink pen she took out of her purse, and it tickles but in a good way. He watches as she doodles a small star next to her number, and it makes him like her even more.

They see Sam walking towards them, and she lets go of his hand.

"Promise you'll call?" she whispers under her breath.

"Scout's honor."

"And don't do that stupid thing where you wait two days before you do it."

"Are you _kidding_ me? I'm calling you tonight. Right after I tell Sam that I just stole his date."

She giggles under her breath, and he smiles.

"Good."

Xxx

"Rachel's cool," Sam says. They're back in their room, and he's leaning against his headboard, staring at the pink numbers scribbled on his skin. He looks up at those words, and tries to push down that guilt bubbling up in his stomach.

"Yeah," he says noncommittally, "She is."

"Don't think it's going to work out though."

"Why not?" Sam shrugs, taking off his dirty sock and throwing it in Finn's face.

"I feel like we don't communicate well. I can't date a girl who doesn't get my Nicholas Cage impression Finn, I just can't."

He stares dumbly at his friend for a few seconds, trying to gauge if Sam is joking. But he's totally serious right now. Finn bursts out laughing then, relief and mirth pouring out of him when Sam throws another dirty sock in his face, slightly annoyed.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm glad you said that," he starts with a grin.

Xxx

Their first semi-date is on Thursday when she tutors him at the library, and they spent the first three hours talking about themselves instead. He scores a B+ for their quiz, and they spent their second semi-date eating hot dogs from a cart, his thank you treat. She totally laughed at him when he got condiments all over his face, but he told her about the mustard on her nose anyway, and wiped it off for her (Has he mentioned how much he loves it when she blushes?).

They go on their first date on Saturday, and he really planned this one out. He made reservations and dressed up and everything.

But they end up in the backseat of his car, parked in some dark corner of the campus ground, making out for hours (She makes this noise when he kisses the space just under her ear that he loves, and he learns that her small fingers feel _really_ good when they're rooting through his hair).

And seriously. Best. First. Date. EVER.


	4. love breaks in

His foot taps a beat against the linoleum floor while he ignores the dirty look Karofsky is shooting from the table next to him. He holds back a smirk, schooling his face because Schuester has his eyes on them, but really. That was one of his best work, if he does say so himself. Asshat is going to think twice before thinking that he could go mouthing off on Finn Hudson again. Generally he doesn't give a shit. But today, well today it was kind of special. Today Dave Karofsky decided to get a little more than personal, and what could be more personal than Finn's fist in his eye, right?

Schuester shushes them, and he may be one of the more bearable teachers at this stupid school, but seriously? There's like, three minutes left on the clock. Three minutes before detention is over, and three minutes before he can get the hell to where he's supposed to be by now. And until then, he begins to tap his fingers along the desk in time with his foot.

"Finn-"

"Oh, look. Time's up!" he crows, pulling his bag up by his hand as he shoots up off his seat.

"Finn, I would like to see you for a few minutes."

"Dude, I gotta go. I'm-"

"Just for a few minutes."

There's a steelness to the teacher's voice that stops him in his tracks, and he turns away from the door to look back at Schuester. He has that look again, that look like he actually gives a crap about a shithead like Finn, and damnit, there really are only three people who could pull that off with him, and one of them is his mom. He sighs loudly, rolling his eyes as he stays where he is.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Dave, are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse's office?"

"I'm fine," Karofsky mumbles as he shuffles out the door, and Finn snickers, smirking at the scowl on the dude's face. It's somehow less effective with that giant black eye he's sporting. "Watch your back Hudson," he mutters under his breath as he passes Finn.

"Or what?" he asks out loud. "You're going to send one of the other football meatheads my way? Go ahead. You might even win for once when I'm done with your sorry asses."

"Big talk for Lima trash like you,"

Dave Karofsky is large and intimidating, and he can make a kid crawl into a dumpster from his loom alone. But Finn's taller, and he's spent enough years in this hick town learning not to give a fuck.

"Hey, we share the same dumpster, remember? I-"

"_Enough_. David, you can leave."

The two boys shuffle away, eyes still drawn in a locked battle before Dave smirks and turns away. Finn watches as the other boy walks away, something akin to anger burning through his veins. His hands are fisting his jeans before he realizes it.

"That's strike two Finn."

He turns back to Will Schuester, who's currently sporting a very large frown on his face. His hands are on his hips, and if that's not enough to complete the stuffy school teacher look, his sweater vest is also extra wooly today. Someone needs to tell the dude that sweater vests are the lamest things on earth (He does, almost every day, but there's just no talking sense with some people). Finn rolls his eyes, shrugging.

"I wasn't the one who started it."

"it doesn't matter who started it, Finn," Schuester says in a tired voice. "You just gave our starting quarterback a black eye. Coach Tanaka is already out for your blood after that prank you pulled with his jockstrap."

"Dude, that was funny!"

"You don't prank your teachers, Finn!"

"Yeah, well, 'teachers' aren't supposed to be calling kids Lima trash either, so we both suck at our roles then."

"Finn-"

"Look, Mr Schue, I'm sorry, okay? But those assholes from the football team walk around this school like they can do anything they want, and that's not right. You know it's not."

Will sighs, dragging a hand through his hair as he takes a seat on the table.

"I'm putting myself out on a limb for you, you know that? Principal Figgins was ready to kick you out after that incident with Tanaka."

"I never asked for your help," he mutters under his breath.

"You know why?" Will continues, ignoring him. "Because I know you're a good kid. You just need a chance, and someone who believes in you. But you're running out of chances Finn. Do you understand that?"

He doesn't say anything, glaring at the frayed edges of his jeans.

"Finn."

"I _get_ it," he says with a groan. "One more strike and I'm out. Until then I'll try not to sock any meatheads until I get out of this shithole, no offense."

"No trying here buddy. No more fighting."

"No more fighting," Finn repeats. "Where you can see me," he mutters under his breath when Will nods.

"Look, Mr Schue, not that I don't love this little bonding session, but I'm late for tutoring, and you made me promise to keep my grades up, remember?"

Schuester frowns, looking at the time.

"What time were you supposed to be there?"

"Like an hour ago?"

Will rolls his eyes, shaking his head.

"Go," he says dryly.

"Thanks Mr Schue," he says, picking up his bag off the floor again. The man is a total dork, but he's pretty cool, you know, for a teacher.

"Oh Finn!"

"_What_?" he snaps, annoyed as he stops at the doorway.

"Audition's tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?"

"Glee."

He snorts.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"We need a new male lead."

"Yeah, no."

"Rachel's really hoping for some fresh talent this year."

"Bye Mr. Schue."

Xxx

He's good at picking locks. And shoplifting. It's just these little skills he's learned to acquire over the years, and seriously, they come in handy. Like picking the lock at the locker room to retrieve a jockstrap for instance. Or slipping quietly into a locked house in the middle of the day. Finn looks around, scoping out his surroundings. He knows this place like the back of his hand, the loose door in the kitchen, and just the right way to jiggle it to get it open. He's been coming here for years.

The Berrys were one of the few people in town who didn't mind him tagging along with his mom when he was a kid. He used to help her clean too, back when the thought of her cleaning other people's houses didn't fill him up with unbridled rage. But it's been years since then, and well, his mom is happy now that she's met Burt and his son Kurt, and they got married and they're all living under one roof playing happy families (it's just taking him a little bit longer to catch up, is all).

The lock finally opens, and he pushes through the door quietly. The house is silent, he knows that Hiram and Leroy won't be back until late. But still, he tries to be quiet as he makes his way up the stairs, grinning at the loud music coming from the far end of the house. He follows the sound to an open door to find her on her stomach on the bed, humming along to the loud music. He leans against the doorway, nonchalantly crossing his arms.

"You ditched me."

She squeals in surprise at the sound of his voice and looks up immediately. When she sees him, she frowns. She turns off the music, still refusing to move from the bed.

"You were late. _My_ academic performance will not suffer because _you_ chose to be tardy. We have a quiz tomorrow Finn. In case you forgot."

"Dude, I had detention, you know that."

"And whose fault is that Finn Hudson?"

"Karofsky," he says easily.

"He has a big game tomorrow," Rachel informs him snootily. "And you punched him in the face."

"Because he threw a Slushie at you!" he exclaims, annoyed at her demeanor. He was _defending_ her, for fuck's sake.

"Am I supposed to feel flattered that you chose to act like a cave man on my behalf and got yourself in trouble?"

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm not!" She finally stands, pushing herself off the bed to stride over to him. "You got in trouble for that Finn! You _know_ you're not supposed to get in _more_ trouble."

"God, could you sound _more_ like Schuester right now?"

"_Mr_. Schue," she snaps. "And he's right! You could get suspended, or worse, _expelled_ because of that fight-"

"I _didn't_."

"And for what? Because some idiot threw a _Slushie_ at me? I'm used to it by now."

"You shouldn't be," he mutters angrily. She sighs, her face softening at his words, but she's still mad he can tell. She stands a few inches away from him, one hand on her hip and the other playing with the locket between her chest. She would totally kill him if he mentions how good her boobs look in her sweater right now, so he doesn't say it.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" she finally asks quietly. He can't believe she's even asking him this right now.

"Because-" he starts, and stops immediately.

"Because _what_?"

"You're my- you're my tutor. You're helping _me_ pass high school, and that means you don't deserve to be treated that way."

"Because I'm your tutor," she repeats. He nods quietly, and he knows it's the wrong thing to do judging by the crazy look in her eyes.

"You punched David Karofsky and got detention for your _tutor_?" she asks, her voice starting to get hysterical as she turns away from him.

"Well-"

"Not, you know, the girl who you've known since we were what, _eight_?" She stomps back to her bed, still talking as she close her textbooks, loudly. "Not the girl you've been ignoring for the past two years while you were too busy trying to be a _jerk_? Or you know, that girl you _just_ decided you'd talk to again two months ago when you decided to clean up your act and asked for her help? That girl who was _stupid_ enough to help you anyway, even though you _still_ call her a tutor and pretend like you're not even friends with her at school?"

"Rachel-"

"You know, that girl you _kissed_ last week in this very room while her dads were gone, and who you made out with for like an hour? Not _that_ girl right? Because you haven't talked to _that_ girl since you ran out on her and pretended like nothing happened ever since!"

"Rachel-" She turns to him and lets out a derisive laugh, shaking her head.

"You know what," she starts, walking up to him and pointing to his chest. "I'm just going to come out and say it. You, Finn Hudson, are an _ass_."

She pokes him in the chest, hard as she says that, and he can see that she's getting worked up because her ears are turning red and there's that crease between her eyes that she gets whenever she's upset. She pokes him again.

"You don't just _kiss_ a girl and then _leave_. Okay? That's _not_ alright. You can't just be _friends_ with someone all your life and then just _ditch_ her because you decided that you'd rather be mopey and alone, and then string her along again when you feel like it."

"I'm _not_ stringing you along-" he starts, but she's not listening. She keeps poking his chest, and yeah okay, she's a tiny little thing, but that _hurts_ after a while.

"And you sure as _hell_ don't defend her and get into a fight that could have cost you your high school career, because she's. just. your. _tutor_!"

He grabs her finger then, and she glares up at him, trying to pull away, but he grips it tighter.

"Let me go."

"No," he murmurs, pulling her closer by her finger. He can't stop the smile that's growing on his face at the murderous look on hers.

"Finn Hudson, you let me go, _right_ now, or-"

He wraps his free arm around her shoulder, pulling her up towards him. There's a milisecond of a pause when her eyes widen in surprise, but they fall to his lips, and that's when he kisses her.

Xxx

"I'm going to call you my boyfriend," she tells him seriously. He has like an hour before her dads get back, and if either one of her fathers find them in this position on her bed, with her lying on top of him and his hands on her ass, he's pretty sure all his efforts to be better at school will be for nothing 'cause he'll be dead. But he doesn't want to move, because hey, his hands have been on worse places than Rachel Berry's sexy ass, and they're not going anywhere. She nuzzles her nose against his neck, and he probably likes this whole situation a little more than he should.

"Your dads will kill me," he tells her dryly. He hasn't really spoken to either one of her fathers in two years. But he knows his rep, and it's definitely not parent-approved.

"I don't care," she mumbles. He grins, nudging her until she looks up at him, resting her chin on his chest.

"You don't care that your dads will kill me?"

"That'll be inconvenient," she admits.

"Yep."

"I'll have to break it to them slowly. I guess until then, you'll be my dirty little secret," she jokes.

"Hmm," he agrees, turning them around as she giggles. "I like being your dirty secret."

"You would," she snorts, tweaking his nose. "And I'm your girlfriend," she tells him.

"My secret girlfriend," he says, wiggling his eyebrows. "Who I have secret makeout sessions with when she tutors me. Learned a _lot_ about Biology today."

"Shut up," she mutters, but she smiles at his quip. She beams up at him, and she's seriously the cutest fucking thing in the world, and he doesn't even stop himself from leaning down and kissing her again, because hey, he's her secret boyfriend.

"Thank you for defending me," she murmurs against his lips. He makes a noncommittal sound from the back of his throat, refusing to pull away. He likes kissing her, likes the feel of her body against his. He loves that it's her he's kissing, and that he already knows about that small birth mark behind her ear long before he kissed it because he's known her long before this, and because she knows him too.

"You still have to make it up to me," she says when they finally pull away. "For the last two years. You owe me, Hudson. Big time."

"I know." There's a twinke in her eye that's making him feel wary.

"I know how you can do it too," she starts gleefully. He holds back a groan, pulling away from her to rest his head on a pillow.

"Please don't-"

"The Glee club needs a male lead."

"Rachel," he says, he's not even ashamed to admit that he's whining right now.

"I _know_ you can sing. I mean, it's the least you can do you know."

This whole shedding his reputation thing? He's pretty sure it'll be shot dead and buried once she's done with him.


	5. pretty woman

Her eyes are dazzling as the salespeople at Tiffany's wait in line to parade their best jewels, and he can't help the smile that pulls against his stoic lips. She's a consummate professional from the moment they shook their hands on the contract, playing the part of the perfect leading lady to a fault.

But sometimes he sees flashes of someone else, someone more. It's in the way her large brown eyes widen at the luxury he is so very used to, the way her smiles are sometimes a little too earnest, her words a little too sincere. She's a good actress, but he's a keen observer, and he sees her discomfort at their little deception, at the way she doesn't seem to fit in her skin as well as she fits in her new clothes.

He sees flashes of her sometimes, of _Rachel_, and he finds that he likes her a little more than he should.

They've known each other for four days, five hours and twenty-five minutes, and it's long enough that when he meets her helpless gaze from across the room, his feet shuffles towards her instantly. Tom, the manager, is currently expounding on the emerald bracelet she's wary of touching, and he knows that the words are flying over her head.

He comes up to stand just behind her and casually snakes an arm around her waist as silent reassurance. She leans into him, relaxing and smiling kindly at the small man in front of them, ooh-ing and aah-ing in all the right moments. His eye catches the piece the salesgirl behind Tom is holding, and- well, it just looks like it belongs to her.

"What about that?" he asks out loud, cutting off Tom's spiel on the emerald cut.

"Pardon me?"

"That piece she's holding," he says, pointing to it. "Bring it here."

"Certainly Mr. Hudson. Amanda, if you will."

The necklace is a thin string of white gold, flourished with a small pink diamond crafted into a snowflake. She straightens up, her eyes widening, dazzling in the light, and he sees that flash again. He picks it up, turning her to clasp the necklace around her neck. Her dainty hand goes up, gently fiingering the pendant resting between her collarbones.

"What do you think, Finn?" she asks him, looking up with a small smile on her face. Her updo is starting to get messy, strands of her hair has escaped to frame her small face. She looks fragile somehow, almost nervous, and he's afraid that he can no longer see Rachel Berry, actress extraordinaire, the accomplice to his lie.

He only sees Rachel.

Something in him seems to falter, his heart seems to skip a beat, and when her smile begins to wane, he realizes that he wants nothing more than to light it up again.

"It fits you," he tells her softly, his fingers catching hers around the pink snowflake. He smiles, and it's different from all his other smiles, because when her littlest finger wraps around his littlest fingers, they fit too.


	6. you're just a baby in disguise

"Are you okay?" he asks gruffly, his hands firm on her shoulders as he looks over for any physical signs of hurt. Standing in the middle of the living room, she shakes her head, face white, clearly shaken as she looks up at him.

"I'm fine," she assures him, although her voice still trembles just slightly. "I just-" She stops talking, looking up at his worried expression. "You're going to say I told you so now, aren't you?"

There's a slightly annoyed expression hiding beneath the resignation on her face and he sighs, shaking his head as he pulls her close and wraps a friendly arm around her shoulders.

"I'll save that for tomorrow," he tells her. "Now I just want to make sure that you're okay. That jerk didn't try anything else, did he?"

"No. He was just an ass who got too drunk and tried to stick his hand down my pants." He makes a face at her words as they take a seat on the living room couch.

"Did I just hear my little sister swearing?" he teases instead. She rolls her eyes liberally, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Yeah well, I grew up since you left for college," she tells him snootily.

"And cut! Great job guys. We're still prepping Burt for your next scene Finn. Rachel, you're done for today, but call time is at five tomorrow."

Finn stretches out on the cut as the camera pans away from him, watching as Will begins to bust the new intern for almost walking into their scene. The crew starts to disperse and it's not long before the set starts to empty out, and Will and the intern are all that's left standing on the far end of the room.

"Getting used to things again?" He turns to his side to find Rachel with her head leaned back, smirking up at him. She's wearing something different than what he's used to seeing on her. After leaving their show for almost a whole year to start college (art imitating life and all that), he hasn't really been keeping up with it. But clearly, little sister has grown up. Last time he saw her, she was still in costume at his goodbye party, large round glasses covering her large eyes and a dishevelled ponytail pulling her hair back from her face. She had worn overalls, which seems to be the standard tomboy look on sitcom television, no matter what year they're in.

Ted in the House has been running for close to six years now, since he was just a fourteen year old kid actor trying to make it big, Who knew Finn Hudson's claim to fame would be as the teenage heartthrob son of the family who took in Ted, the homeless guy? Their show is as formulaic as any other, but it works and up until their fourth season, he had been content with the idea of being Zachary Brown forever. But then eighteen came, and he started to get restless. Rachel told him that he sold out Teen Beat when news of his departure came out.

College is great, living the normal life is great (of course _his_ version of normal includes a healthy amount of financial security), and he wasn't missing the show so much as the people that make it. So when Will called and pitched a three-episode guest arc during Spring Break, he jumped at the chance. Setting foot on the lot of the studio felt a lot like coming home, he spent the better part of his adolescence there, making friends with kids from the next studio over, teasing Rachel mercilessly because just like Melissa Brown, she was the little sister he never had.

Rachel was just turning sixteen when he left the show, and she was crushed. They were really the only two kids in the whole cast and crew, and if she did dramatically gave him the silent treatment during his last month on set, he didn't take it personally. Rachel Berry is what one would call a drama queen, but she's also a consummate professional and his constant source of companionship (and he hers), and so he got it, why she was so pissed. She doesn't look pissed now though, as she grins up at him, leaning back against the couch with her hands crossed over her chest. She doesn't look much like the Rachel he remembers either, in her form-fitting dress that stops just above her knees and her long hair falling over her shoulders in waves.

When did Melissa Brown turn into a young woman? How much has he _missed_in a year?

He smiles at her, shrugging.

"It's like riding a bike," he tells her. "Once I get in the zone, it's just like I never left."

"Yeah, you did a great job for your first scene. We only did like what, ten takes?" she teases. He chuckles, nudging her foot with his own.

"It takes a while to get in the zone okay," he says defensively.

"Well," she says, slapping his thigh gently as she moves to stand. "You've got a long night ahead of you, but I'm gonna bounce."

He frowns, watching her as she straightens her dress, eyes focused on her face and not on the sliver of skin between the hem of her skirt and the top of her knee highs.

"You're leaving?" he asks. She nods, smiling at him.

"I'm done for the day."

"Oh. I just thought we could catch up or something. I mean, it's been a while, you know?"

Rachel shrugs, still smiling, but he could swear there's something off in the way her lips look frozen.

"I would love to Finn, but I have a date tonight."

"A date?" he asks stupidly. "With _who_?"

"Wyatt," she says, cocking her head towards the new intern who waves boisterously at them when he catches them looking.

"The new intern?" he asks, his frown deepening. "How well do you know this guy?"

"I'm getting to know him tonight," she answers simply.

"Are you sure he's safe?" he asks doubtfully. The kid blushes as Finn stares him down, making a beeline for the exit. Finn just doesn't trust that kid. He's too… shifty.

"No Finn. I'm sure he's not. I'm sure Will hires serial murderers and ex-convicts all the time," Rachel says sarcastically, rolling her eyes when he stands. "You do know you're not my _actual_ brother, right?"

"Hey," he starts, his tone placating as he rests a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get mad, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I'm seventeen years old Finn. Just because I haven't been out in the 'real world' and living the college life like you, doesn't mean that I'm completely vapid on these things."

"What's up with the bitch act right now?" he asks testily as she jerks her body away from his touch. Her eyes widen at his words and he braces for a complete Rachel Berry chew-out. But her shoulders sag, and she closes her eyes instead, shaking her head as if in resignation.

"_Nothing_," she snaps, when she opens them again. "I guess a bitch is just what I am these days. Although, you wouldn't know that, would you? It's not like you've bothered to keep in touch."

_Oh_.

"Rach-"

"Look, I'm gonna be late, and you _really_ need to learn your lines. I'll see you tomorrow morning, and don't screw up. Unlike _you_, we can't all afford to mess up our takes."

She begins to stalk away in anger, and he sighs, following her on her heels.

"Rachel, come on," he says, pulling on her hand. She stops short in front of him, and he backs away in surprise when she suddenly whirls around to stand on her toes and glare up at him.

"You know, people move on when you're not around Finn. You can't just expect to come back here and for everything to be the same. It's not. I'm not. In case you haven't noticed, and I'm sure you haven't, I've grown up a lot in the past year, and I'm not that same little girl who's going to waste her time following you around like a little puppy. I'm not a kid anymore, Finn. So if you'll excuse me, I don't want to keep Wyatt waiting. Unlike _some_ people, when I make promises, I intend to keep them."

With that, she wrenches her hand away from his grasp and turns around to stalk off to her trailer. He watches her retreating figure, sighing as he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. _You're an idiot Hudson_. He straightens up when she stops almost ten feet away. She turns and gives him another scathing glare before she continues on walking, her pace quickening.

Her words play over in his head one more time, and his eyes darken as he stares at the doorway she exits.

"I _have_ noticed," he mumbles quietly to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

She feels the blood rushing in her ears with every ragged breath he takes. She moves as swiftly as she can through the trees, bearing most of his weight as he leans heavily against her. He groans when her elbow jostles his side and she winces, looking down at the dark red, almost brown, spot growing on his t-shirt.

"Sorry," she murmurs, wondering just how much regret and apology can be put into that one word. She's sorry. She's so, _so_ sorry for putting him through this, getting him hurt, dragging him into her messed up world.

He- Finn.

Finn Hudson is his name, the boy with the warm brown eyes and beautiful smile. The boy without a father, who lived with his mom and does the housework to help her. Finn is the name of the boy who saved her once, when she was still new to the town. They were still in middle school then, and it didn't take long before the other kids started calling her the school freak. They'd steal her lunch, push her down, call her names and taunt her just for a reaction. It was Finn who stepped in the middle of a fight and dragged her out, and saved her before she turned into something more than that weak little girl who never spoke.

Finn is the name of the boy who always seemed to catch her eye whenever he was around, whose earnest words and sincere empathy wove their way around her heart, who made her _yearn_ for something more. A touch, a word, a life that was never meant for a- a _creature_ like her. The kids at school call her a freak, but they have no idea.

Finn is the boy who was always different, who called her Rachel, only ever Rachel, with that beautiful smile that she never returned, who talked to her like she was- like she was human.

And Finn, Finn is the boy who caught her, who- who saw them, her and _It_.

It all plays in slow motion in her mind as she pulls him towards shelter.

It, walking towards her, large and imposing. Her back and the way it hit the bark of a tree, the way the friction had scratched through to her skin. She had been running away from It all her life, from that phantom monster out to get her, It. Eighteen years, and suddenly she was tired of running, tired of hiding, of being _her_. Eighteen years of running, and suddenly all she wanted was to give up.

And she was ready to, prepared to let It gut her, tear her heart wide open and take her blood. Rachel Berry was prepared to die. Her senses had dimmed, her weary heart welcoming death, until his voice broke through. She remembers her eyes snapping wide open at the sound of his voice, her gaze meeting his worried, terrified brown orbs as he froze in place for just a second before he started running towards her.

"Stop!" she had wanted to yell. "Turn around!"

But her mouth was frozen, glued shut the closer he got, and somewhere between It turning around and disappearing, the stake was lodged firmly in his spleen, and she couldn't _breathe_.

She hasn't been breathing for since.

His breathing is shallow in her ear, and when she finally reaches the run-down hut, she drops him on the verandah, ignoring his cries of pain as she straightens his body on the ground.

"Hold on," she whispers, sitting on her knees as she takes his hand. She has lived her whole life knowing not to trust anyone or anything. It will come and get her, and humans, well she's been taught that humans are only out to use her. Shelby taught her to never use her powers, but Shelby is gone now. Hiram taught her how to blend in, but she never really did.

And Finn, Finn was the only person who ever made her feel like she belonged, even for a little while, and she's struck by the acute need of him, by the uncanny feeling that a part of her is dying with every shallow breath he takes. In the back of her mind, she knows that this will change things, change _him_, but she _can't_ let him die. So she pushes away her doubts, and for once in her life she thinks of more than her survival, she thinks of his.

Power thrums within her, vibrating through every pore in her body, and she focuses all of it onto her palms, watching as the color turns into a bluish glow. She holds her palms out over his wound, closing her eyes tights as she presses into it, ignoring his groans to focus on the energy transfer.

The air around them grows dense, a circle of light surrounds them, and when she feels the wound starts to close, her eyes open to watch as the color returns to his lips. He stays unconscious long enough for her nerves to return, and Rachel leans forward, pushing her palms on the tops of her thighs as she leans over him, letting out a slow breath when she feels his warm breath against her cheek.

His eyes open slowly, and there's a flash of gold that turns back into the same warm brown that stares intently into her gaze.

"Rachel," he murmurs, and he's Finn, indibutably Finn, one hand reaching up towards her, curling into a fist as his thumb wipes away the moisture under her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He's still too weak to be fully lucid, and she's certain he barely knows what's happening.

"I'm fine," she whispers, leaning into his touch before she even realizes it. "You need to rest."

He frowns, struggling to sit up, but she pushes him back down.

"That- that thing- what-"

"Rest," she tells him quietly. "And I'll explain everything when you wake up."


	8. Finn and Rachel's Infinite Playlist

His hands are in fists against his sides before he knows what's happening, his eyes too transfixed on the scene before him, of Rachel Berry in the arms of some douchebag moron who looks like a blowup version of a Ken doll. The guy leans forward, whispers something in her ear, and Finn feels the back of his neck heating up when she giggles.

"Who the hell is that?" he finally spits out. Sam stands to his right and shrugs, slightly less interested. He puts an arm around Finn, leans his head on Finn's shoulder, a sign that he's a little tipsy.

"I heard through the rumour mill that he's her ex," Kurt tells him. Finn turns towards his stepbrother, narrowing his eyes just a little. The bar is starting to get a little too crowded, and the four of them, him and Sam and Kurt and Blaine are stuck right in the middle of the dance floor. Sam's too drunk to move, and Finn is too Finn to dance, but Kurt and Blaine are shimmying close together while Kurt continues to talk.

"That's Brody Weston, NYADA senior."

"He looks like a douchebag," Finn mutters. Kurt shrugs.

"He kind of is. But what do you care? I thought you weren't interested."

"I'm not," Finn argues. "I'm only doing this to-"

"Make Quinn jealous, we get it," Kurt finishes, rolling his eyes.

"No," Finn snaps. "To help her find Brittany. You know, her friend that the three of you seemed to have misplaced?"

"Oh please, Finn. You are about as subtle as an elephant in the room. "

"I-"

"You spent all night talking the poor girl's ear off about "Quinn this, and Quinn that, and that hundredth millionth mix I made for her". I mean, a lesser girl would have left hours ago. And now when Brody Weston is in the picture, Rachel suddenly exists?"

He responds by sending Kurt a withering stare before he goes back to glaring. He doesn't know what the hell is wrong with him. He never even knew who Rachel Berry _was_ before tonight, and he only knows her now because she had planted one on him right in front of Quinn and her new boyfriend, of all people, just a few hours ago. Tonight was supposed to be awesome. He was supposed to hang out with his band (his brother and his two equally-as-gay buddies), catch the rocking underground show and forget about his ex. But instead, he was suddenly kissing a complete stranger right in _front_ of his ex, and if that wasn't bad enough, he has now been following said stranger around for the last three hours, trying to look for her drunk-of-her-ass friend that his lovely bandmates managed to lose when they had so graciously offered Rachel a ride home. This night is turning into the worst night of his life, and it's not even one yet.

But Kurt was right. Why is it bugging him so much anyway, seeing Brody with his arm around Rachel, his fingers wrapped around her waist like they belong there? They don't even _like_ each other, as clearly indicated by the relentless bickering that was happening back in the van (in between their search for Brittany, of course). And why the hell is the memory of her soft lips against his playing in his mind over and over like a broken record? He shakes his head, frowning. _Clearly_, Rachel Berry looks like she could care less about her friend by now.

"Let's go," he mutters, repeating his words louder when his friends ignore him. Blaine frowns.

"_Now_? But what about Brittany?"

"She doesn't seem to care, so why should we?" Finn snaps, turning away and walking swiftly to the exit. He reaches the pavement with a frown, so deep in thought that he barely notices the fingers around his wrist.

"Finn, stop!" He does, almost knocking over the person behind him when he turns. Rachel is looking up at him, smiling and out of breath. "Why didn't you wait for me?" she murmurs.

"You looked like you were busy."

"Well, I wasn't. I mean, Brittany's more important than some random hook up, you know?"

"Oh."

He sees Kurt, Blaine and Sam standing by their van out of the corner of his eye, but he ignores them, choosing instead to focus on Rachel awkwardly shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. He frowns when she shivers slightly.

"Where's your jacket?" he asks.

"It's with Brody. I was- I was in a hurry trying to catch you."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They stand at an odd distance, awkwardly looking at each other, and he can't help but think that it wouldn't be very hard to make the perfect mix for Rachel Berry. He clears his throat, shrugging off his mechanic's jacket to wrap them around her shoulders.

"It's cold out." She's so tiny that she drowns in his jacket, but her surprised look melts into a smile when she pushes her arms through the sleeves.

"Thanks," she murmurs, looking up at him with a blinding smile. He thinks that he could probably make a mix about her smile alone.


	9. Prom

Look, he knows it's a long-shot, okay? She's Rachel Berry, president of the Drama Club, treasurer of the Mckinley High's Entrepreneur Club and like, the committee member of the AV Club or something. He's pretty sure she's in every club under the sun actually, including Glee, which is where he first met her. He doesn't really even know what it is about this girl that's got him even thinking of attempting something this stupid. She's loud and bossy and kind of annoying actually, and the first time he met her, he almost backed out of auditioning he was so freaked out.

She's pretty intense, and people make fun of her for that. When she found out that the only reason he even auditioned for Glee was because of a prank the seniors pulled as part of his hazing for the football team, he was positive she was going to murder him in his sleep. But she didn't though. Instead, she'd given him this look, this really _weird_ look, and all she did was shake her head and told him that he was better than that. Like seriously, what the hell was that even? Whatever it was, it worked though, because here he is three months later, getting his ass kicked every afternoon in the locker room for being a 'glee fairy' (he thought he'd care more about what the big football dudes think of him, but he surprisingly doesn't. Those dudes may have brute strength, but they've got nothing on a fifteen minute Berry nag that's for sure).

He doesn't know what it is about Rachel Berry, but he just can't ever get her out of his head.

He finds himself listening to her even when he doesn't _want_ to. Which is why he knows that she doesn't have a date to junior prom, because he overheard her telling Tina Cohen-Chang about it. He knows that she really, really wants to go. She wants the whole teen-flick-high-school-prom thing, with the date and the corsage and the limo and stuff. He knows because she wouldn't stop talking about it during their private vocal lessons (she _insisted_ he needed her expertise) the day the posters went up.

The only problem with that is that no junior or senior boy is going to ask her to be his date. 'Cause see, they all think she's just this crazy loud girl who likes to sing out the cafeteria menu during lunch. But he knows better though, he knows there's something more. He just can't put his finger on just what it is yet.

So that's how he's standing here, next to the piano on the auditorium stage, waiting for her, holding a pink tulip in his hand. It's stupid, he knows, okay? He doesn't even know what he's doing really, he's never really asked a girl out before. But she's already walking up the steps, so it's too late to forget about it.

"Hello Finn," she says when she reaches him, smiling that really huge smile of hers.

"Um- hey."

"We have a lot to do today. Prom is in two days, so we need to be at the top of our game-"

"Yeah about that," he cuts in, picking up the tulip he left on the piano to hide it behind his back, twirling it nervously between his fingers. "Are you going?'

She looks at him like he'd just asked the stupidest question known to man.

"Of course I am. Glee is the main entertainment-"

"No. I meant like as a junior. You know, going to junior prom."

"Oh," she says abruptly, looking away with a frown. "No. No, I decided that I would probably be too busy performing anyway to entertain my date should I go."

"Oh," he says. She shoots him a brief smile before primly sitting on the bench, patting the space next to her for him. He sits, watching as her fingers tinkle with the ivory keys. "Even if the guy's gonna perform next to you?"

She looks up at him warily.

"What do you mean?"

_Here goes nothing._ Slowly, he holds out the tulip he's hidden behind his back, noting the way her eyes widen just a little.

"Rachel Berry, will you go to prom with me?"

There is about a few seconds of silence where could almost swear he hears the crickets chirping.

"Is this a joke?" she asks cautiously. He can _feel_ his face falling.

"No!"

"Is this because of the free alcohol the jocks are talking about? Because I have to warn you Finn, coach Sylvester keeps a _very_ close eye on the punch-"

"What? No! I just- I just figured it'd be fun, y'know since we're going anyway. We might as well have some fun out of it. Right?" He looks at her expectantly, trying to smile even though it's the last thing he feels like doing right now. He's pretty sure he's just turned about ten shades of red while Rachel Berry continues looking at him like he has an extra eye on his forehead or something.

"You're serious?" she asks quietly. He nods.

"You don't-" he stammers, embarrassed. "I mean I know this is kind of stupid and I'm a freshman-"

"I'll need to buy our tickets," she cuts in, surprising him. He looks at her, trying to see if she's joking, but she looks absolutely serious.

"But we're already getting in for free," he says cautiously gauging her reaction. She rolls her eyes.

"Rachel Berry never does anything half-baked. If we're going to prom together Finn, then we're going to do it properly."

"So is that a yes?" he asks. He sounds kind of dumb he knows, but he's just not sure, okay? He sees her hiding a smile and relaxes.

"Only if you promise to do it right Finn."

"Well, I can't get you the fancy car, but if you squint really hard, my mom's station wagon kind of looks like a limo."

She snorts at his joke, nudging his side as she takes the flower from him. She twirls it around her fingers much like he had earlier. She's not looking him in the eye, but he thinks there's just a tinge of red spreading beneath her cheeks. He grins. He doesn't know what corsage he's going to get her (but he knows it'll be pink), or if his mom's free to drive them around that night (he hasn't received his driver's permit yet _okay_?), but Rachel's mood is improving considerably and he's not going to like, ruin it right now by asking all these questions.

He doesn't know what it is about this girl. But trying to give her her teen-flick-high-school-prom experience is making her smile this really small, un-Berry like smile, and there's just something about it. It just makes him feel good.


	10. i do love you

She sits on the front stoop of his apartment, hands clasped so tightly together that they seem to have lost all blood circulation. She has been sitting here for close to thirty minutes, her mind running through all the possibilities of what his reaction might be. This is- this is _crazy_. They _barely_ know each other. It's been, what, five months? Five months of casual dating, that was _always_ going to amount to nothing much, because he's leaving in a month. She knows this._They_ know this, and they have both made it abundantly clear. The ground rules had been set months ago, that this was- _is_, an open relationship.

Regardless of how she really feels about him, or the fact that there hasn't _been_anyone else, or- or how she sometimes think that maybe it's the same for him also (She's deluding herself. She knows this. She's seen the kind of girls that flock to him after every performance, and there's just no competing with that, not from a tiny but loud Jewish girl with a flat chest and a big nose anyway). Despite _everything_, this isn't supposed to happen. No strings attached, that's what she told him. It was what he wanted, and this is a string. This is a_humongous_ string attached, and it's going to last for the rest of their fucking lives.

Unless- well, he has an out. He could- he could just leave, and what can she do about it? She's not going to be _that_ girl, you know, that girl who's stupid enough to try and stick around when she's not wanted. She was that girl in high school, and all it got her was a vindictive boy who _pretended_ to love her and two years of misery. She tells herself that Finn is different, but how different can he be when there's no commitment between them? His only commitment is to his music, it's his number one priority, and his band is leaving in a month, they're _making_ it, and he's going to be traveling the country in exactly twenty seven days, where a _thousand_ more girls she could never compete with will be throwing themselves at his feet, and what is she expecting? That he'll throw that chance away for her?

_Not for you_, she thinks, hands unclasping and automatically moving down to her flat stomach.

But this is Finn. The first boy who ever made her feel like she could be beautiful, the boy with the warm brown eyes and a smile that turns her heart into goo. This is Finn, the guy that punched her ex in the face for her that first night, because Brody wasn't a gentleman, and Finn, Finn is. Finn is the boy with the music, the boy who believes in her dreams, who once said that her voice touched something in him, and that was funny, because everything about him touches every nerve and feeling in her body, and she- she _loves_ him.

Her palm spreads over the space below her ribcage, pressing harder as if that will anchor her to this reality. This is _Finn's_, and she's in love with him. She doesn't _want_ to be in love with him, but she is. She's in love with his smile, and the way he smiles when he's looking at her. She's in love with his height, how he's _so_ tall, and the way he jokes about how small she is when he lets her stand on his feet. She isn't _supposed_ to be in love with him, but she is. She's in love with the way he blushes when he says something stupid, how his passion seeps into every beat and every melody in his music, the way he holds her, and how he makes her feel like they're the only two people in the world on some nights, and like he connects her with _everything_ and everyone on other nights. She loves Finn and his earnestness and his honesty and his everything and she-

She _can't_ do this to him. She can't put him in this position. She needs to leave, she needs to go, and he doesn't ever have to know, and they'll part ways just like they said they will when he goes off to be a rockstar and she-

"Rachel?"

She almost trips on her flats at the sound of his voice, but he catches her mid squeal, his fingers wrapped firmly around her arm, and she closes her eyes tight, forces herself to breathe.

"You need to be careful."

His voices filters through her ears, and it sounds light and carefree, and she doesn't know how she's supposed to walk away now.

"Are you okay?" his voice asks again. She notes the worry, and she's not ready to face him, but he steadies her and nudges her jaw up with his hand, and what else can she do but to open her eyes?

"I'm fine," she whispers, her eyes fluttering open, and there he is. There's that smile, the dimples that goes deep into his cheeks when she manages a slight upturn on her lips.

"Were you waiting for me?" he asks, sliding one arm around her waist as he turns her back in the direction of his apartment.

"I was- I was just in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd stop by, but you weren't here so-"

"I'm here now."

"I should- I should go.. It's late and-"

"Stay."

"Finn-"

"Rachel," he cuts in, ignoring her hesitant tone. They stop at the stoop again, and he leans down to kiss her cheek. "_Stay_."

"Okay."

The walk up to his apartment is quiet, and she hopes he doesn't sense the turmoil raging in her. His arm is thrown carelessly over her shoulder, and she's wedged firmly in the crook of his arm, and it's funny how his scent makes her feel this safe, when she's never been scared of him more.

"I have something for you," he tells her when they reach his door. His words are nonchalant while he pushes his key into the lock, and he lets her enter first, ever the gentleman.

"What is it?"

"It's on the bed."

Her eyes zero in on the makeshift curtain separating his bed from the rest of his tiny studio apartment, her curiosity overriding her anxiety. He chuckles at the impatient look on her face and nudges her towards it.

"Go," he tells her. "I'm going to see if there's some of that instant coffee left."

It's a small gift box that sits innocently at the foot of his bed, wrapped in pink paper and tied with an even pinker ribbon, a clear sign that he solicited professional help with his gift. She smiles to herself, sitting on the bed to pick it up. It's light, and not small enough to be jewellery, and she can't guess what's in it. Maybe it's the band's demo CD, maybe they finally finished it. She unwraps it carefully, slowly unpeeling the tape, and when she opens the lid, she drops it like it burned.

Her heart is beating wildly against her ribcage, wondering if she's delusional, but she picks it up off the floor to look again, and nestled in between sheets of tissue paper is a pair of white baby booties with yellow stars and blue music notes lining their sides.

"I saw the receipt." Her head snaps up to find him standing under the dividing curtains, his expression solemn as he walks in and kneels in front of her. "From your doctor. And I- I know, Rachel."

Tears prickle the back of her eyes, and she doesn't hide them from him this time.

"How long have you known?"

"It's- it's been a few days. And I- I mean, I needed some time to think things over, you know? Not," he says quickly. "Not that I ever thought about bailing. I mean, I would never do that to you, or to- to our kid."

She doesn't say anything, just watches him as he takes the tiny shoes out of the box. They're miniscule on his palm, and she reaches out to gingerly touch one.

"I didn't know how to tell you."

"I know."

"I- we- we're not even- and you're _leaving_-"

"I can stay-"

"_No_, Finn-"

"Or you can come with me."

"I- what?"

She looks at him, dazed by the sudden turn of events, and he is dead serious.

"Come with me on the tour."

"I can't do that. I have- I have school, and- and a job- and what are we, Finn? We're not even _exclusive_-"

"We're having a baby," he cuts in, taking her hand. He pulls her down, letting her perch on his lap, one hand moving to rest on her abdomen under her shirt. "And you've been exclusive from the moment I punched your dick ex in the face."

"But you said-"

"No, _you_ said, and I didn't disagree, because- because I wanted you."

Her heart is in her throat, and she can't focus on anything but the warmth of his palm against her skin.

"Honestly?" she asks slowly after what felt like a million years.

"Honestly."

"This is- I didn't want to expect you to stay."

"I know. But here I am, and I'm not going anywhere."

She turns, her lips slowly morphing into a smile as she leans up to kiss him, the weight of the truth finally lifted off her shoulders.

"I'm scared," she confesses against his lips.

"Me too. But," he pulls away and picks up the booties next to them. "I found this the other day."

"It's beautiful."

"I thought it's- it's like us in a nutshell."

"The notes and the stars?" she asks. He nods, grinning.

"And that's what this kid is going to be. Part me and part you, and we're young, and I still don't know what I'm doing half the time, but I know that I love it, and I know that I love you, so we'll-"

"We'll figure it out," she finishes, smiling. He nods, leaning in to kiss her again.

"We will."


End file.
